real estate news

Houston nails No. 1 ranking for new construction homes sold in U.S.

Houston sold more than 1,700 new construction homes in March.

The Lone Star State is holding on to its reputation as one of the hottest moving destinations, and a new report shows four Texas metro areas have sold the most new construction homes in the country, with Houston outshining them all.

Houston sold the most new construction homes nationwide in March 2024, according to SmartAsset's recently published report, "Where the Most New Construction Homes Are Being Added – 2024 Study." The metro area claimed the No. 1 spot out of 153 U.S. cities ranked based on Zillow's real estate data from March and April.

A total of 1,751 new build homes were sold in the Houston area in March, for a median sale price of $347,990. The metro's median price point for newly constructed homes is about $30,000 more than the median price for all Houston homes sold in April, which came out to $318,104.

New construction home prices seem high for Houston, but things could be much worse. San Jose, California (which ranked No. 132) only sold 41 newly built homes in March, but they sold for a median sale price of $1.734 million.

While inflation jumped by nearly 23 percent from spring 2019 to spring 2024, SmartAsset says housing prices skyrocketed even more during the same time period to 49.4 percent on average. The report indicates these daunting figures aren't having an optimistic effect on potential buyers.

"Housing costs are often the largest budget item for Americans and this could make home ownership feel out of reach for many," the report's author wrote. "But adding new housing can help relieve price pressures in undersupplied metro areas."

Dallas was right behind Houston in the national standings with 1,574 new construction homes sold in March 2024. But the median sale price for these new homes in the North Texas metro was much higher than Houston's, at $414,950, which is nearly $36,000 higher than the median price for all homes sold during the following month.

Other Texas cities that helped secure the state's dominance in the top 10 include San Antonio (No. 5) and Austin (No. 7). Only 777 new construction homes were sold in the Alamo City in March, with a median sale price of $310,446, which is the most affordable price out of all Texas cities in the top 10. In Austin, 750 new build homes were sold in March, for a median price of $434,900.

The top 10 U.S. metros with the most new construction homes being sold are:

No. 1 – Houston, Texas
No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
No. 3 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 4 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 5 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 6 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 7 – Austin, Texas
No. 8 – Nashville, Tennessee
No. 9 – Tampa, Florida
No. 10 – Raleigh, North Carolina

Real estate data for all 153 U.S. cities mentioned in the report – including new construction sales count, median sales prices, median sale price per square foot, and median price for all homes (as of April 2024) — was sourced from Zillow based on all single-family homes and condos.

The full report can be found on smartasset.com.

houston dallas austin san antonio smartasset reports rankings real estate

No Cap

Houston ranked No. 3 destination for Gen Zers on the move for 2023

Photo by Alexander Londoño on Unsplash

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As Gen Z enters adulthood, many are flocking to the nation's biggest cultural hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, and now Houston, which had the third-highest inflow of Gen Zers in 2023.

H-Town's new reputation as a Gen Z hotspot was unveiled in a recent report by American home improvement brand This Old House, which analyzed migration trends across multiple generations using 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Houston saw an influx of 22,868 Gen Z residents last year to become the generations third most popular city. That's up from ranking as the No. 11 most popular city in 2022. Houston gained fewer than 7,600 new Gen Z residents during that time in comparison to 2023's migration trend.

Houston started gaining traction as an up-and-coming destination for Gen Zers last year, when the "experience-hungry generation" was on the hunt for an affordable place to live with vast opportunities for entertainment, education, or employment.

Real estate marketplace Zillow seems to agree on a statewide scale, declaring Texas as the No. 1 destination for Gen Zers on the move in 2024.

While Houston saw big gains in its Gen Z population last year, many other big cities saw a mass exodus.

"El Paso, Texas, has lost the most residents from this generation, with a drop of 5,607, a sharp turn from 2022 when the city saw an increase," the report said. "Other cities, including Plano, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; McKinney, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, are seeing similar declines."

The report also surprisingly revealed that Houston is also one of the top destinations for millennials and Gen X, whereas both New York City and Los Angeles lost more residents among those two generations in comparison.

Houston ranked as the No. 1 city for Gen Xers and No. 4 for millennials based on their respective migration trends in 2023. Houston gained 6,312 new Gen X residents last year – the most nationwide – and the fourth-highest amount of millennials (5,301 new residents).

"Gen X, baby boomers, and the Silent Generation are also moving away from major cities, particularly New York City and Washington, D.C.," the report said. "They’re heading to some of the same cities as Gen Z, including Houston and Jacksonville, Florida."

The top 10 cities that gained the most Gen Z residents in 2023 are:

No. 1 – New York City, New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 5 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 6 – San Diego, California
No. 7 – Seattle, Washington
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota